The New Year hasn't been very kind for the people of Michigan as an outbreak of the H1N1 virus hits Michigan and reminds the city just how deadly it can be.
According to one health system spokeswoman who spoke to the Detroit Press, three people have died and the influenza strain has left dozens more on life support since the pandemic hit in 2009. It was at a slow pace during fall but increased dramatically throughout the final days of December of last year. As of Saturday, 11 hospitals in Michigan have reported 121 cases that can be linked to the flu.
What worries doctors is that the patients who are being admitted for having the H1N1 symptoms are relatively young and healthy people. Chief medical executive Dr. Matt Davis says: "These deaths are among previously healthy individuals. This is not the group that the public usually thinks about as being susceptible to serious illness with influenza."
As of Monday, there are already dozens of people who are in the ICU of the University of Michigan Health Center. Kara Gavin, spokeswoman for the center states, "We have also had an increase in number of people hospitalized in non-ICU hospital units over the last few days."
As for associate chair for critical care in the U-M Department of Surgery, Dr. Lena Napolitano, she is seeing the same pandemic that she saw when the H1N1 first hit 5 years ago. The bright side is that there is already a vaccine, which doctors strongly urge everyone to get.
"It's not too late to vaccinate, there is plenty of vaccine available at drugstores and doctors' offices, and everyone over the age of 6 months should get the vaccine," Dr. Napolitano relays.
While H1N1 or swine flu starts with the same symptoms as influenza, having runny nose, coughing, higher temperature and body aches, it can quickly escalate to deadly, leaving the sick struggling to breathe enough air.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
